1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of refrigerators and, more particularly, to an assembly for adjustably sensing the level of ice collected within a storage bin of an automatic ice maker system.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In the art of refrigerators, it is widely known to incorporate an automatic ice maker system wherein ice cubes are formed and collected within a storage bin from which the cubes can be accessed either manually or through a dispenser. With such a system, provisions are commonly made to sense the level of ice cubes within the storage bin and to automatically terminate the formation of additional ice cubes until the level falls below a certain height. Typically, the automatic ice maker will have an associated bale arm which is raised and lowered based on the level of the ice in the storage bin. When the bale arm is shifted upward a predetermined distance, the formation of ice will be temporarily terminated. With this arrangement, it is not possible for the consumer to personally establish a desired ice level height.
To address this potential drawback, it has heretofore been proposed to attach an additional ice level sensing element to the bale arm, with the sensing element being adjustable in order to enable the storage level of the ice to be selectively altered. An example of such an arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,858. In general, this patented arrangement enables one of two different ice levels to be selected. Not only is this prior art assembly limited in its range of adjustability, but the manner in which the sensing element is adjusted is considered somewhat cumbersome and time consuming, particularly given the fact that only a small zone is typically available about the element to manually grasp and adjust the element. In addition, when it is desired to withdraw the ice storage bin from the freezer compartment, the sensing element can actually obstruct the movement of the bin.
Based on the above, there exists a need in the art for an ice level sensing assembly including a sensing member which can be adjusted through a wide range in order to enhance the versatility, efficiency and effectiveness of an overall automatic ice maker assembly. Furthermore, there exists a need for an adjustable ice level sensing assembly which is designed to enable removal and replacement of the ice storage bin from the freezer compartment without the need to manually alter the selected position of the sensing member.
The present invention is directed to an automatic ice maker system including an arm assembly used to sense and adjust the amount of ice stored in an ice bin in order to control the production of additional ice. More specifically, the invention is directed to attaching a sensing member to a bale arm of an automatic ice maker, with the positioning of the sensing member relative to the bale arm being easily adjustable in order to enable a consumer to readily select and change the amount of stored ice. The ice level sensing member is uniquely shaped to allow from about 50-100% of the maximum capacity of the ice maker bin to be maintained. In addition, the shape of the ice level sensing member allows the storage bin to be removed and replaced from within a freezer compartment by the consumer without moving the bale arm or the sensing member out of the way or separately turning the ice maker off.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sensing member has two upper end connectors which are adapted to snap-fittingly receive a crosspiece portion of the bale arm, with the end connectors being generally biased outward to positively engage generally parallel leg portions of the bale arm. One of the end connectors is formed with arcuately spaced detents defined by recesses arranged between various projections. In the most preferred form of the invention, three such detents are provided to selectively receive a respective bale arm leg portion. These detents enable the adjustment of the element to alter the maximum capacity of the storage bin. From the end portions, the sensing element has sections which extend in three intersecting planes, while converging to a central vortex portion. The sections generally bend back upon themselves and are angled to enhance capacity adjustments and to enable the storage bin to be removed from and replaced within the freezer compartment without manually moving the bale arm out of the way.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in the several views.